1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of automotive impact and rollover protection systems and in particular to an occupant rollover containment and protection system.
2. Background Art
The safety of the occupants of an automotive vehicle involved in a crash and subsequent rollover is of prime concern to the automotive industry, in particular, with sport utility vehicles (SUV) and small trucks, such as pickup trucks. Initially, seat belts were incorporated into the vehicles to secure the occupants to the seat in the event of an accident. Currently all automotive vehicles by law are now equipped with seat belts. Subsequently, shoulder harnesses were also incorporated with the seat belts to minimize forward pitching of the occupants in head-on collisions. To further protect the occupants, front seat air bags are now being provided on steering wheels and instrument panels of the vehicles. More recently, inflatable side air bags are being developed to protect and constrain the occupants inside the vehicle in the event of a side impact or rollover event. Typical examples of such side air bags are taught by James Lloyd Webber et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,481, and by Myron Castro in Published European Patent Application EPO 896909 A2.
It is desirable to incorporate into sport utility vehicles and light trucks a rollover protection system, which is designed to protect the occupants from injury resulting from side impacts and rollovers.
A dual roof rail air bag includes an integral fill system having an inflatable curtain, which when deployed covers at least one side window of the vehicle, and inhibits the ejection of an occupant in the event of a rollover. Attached to the bottom of the inflatable curtain is an inflatable tube structure connected between the front pillar of the vehicle and a rear pillar. An inflator, when activated by a sensor, quickly provides inflation gas for inflating the inflatable curtain and the inflatable tube structure. A manifold has one end attached to the inflator and an opposite end attached to the input to the inflatable tube structure in a region adjacent to the front pillar of the vehicle. A first portion of the manifold passes through the inflatable curtain adjacent to the roof rail. The first portion of the manifold, inside the inflatable curtain, has a series of holes, which allows inflator gas passing through the manifold to bleed into the inflatable curtain. This provides for simultaneous and integrated inflation of both the inflatable curtain and the inflatable tube structure. In the preferred embodiment, the number and size of the holes in the first portion of the manifold are selected to enable inflation of the inflatable tube structure at a rate slightly higher than the rate at which the inflatable curtain is inflated.
A first object of the invention is a dual roof rail mounted air bag with an integrated fill system.
Another object is an integrated fill system in which the inflatable tube structure is inflated at a rate slightly faster than the inflatable curtain.
Still another object of the invention is an inflation system in which a single manifold simultaneously inflates the inflatable curtain and the inflatable tube structure.
Another object of the invention is to have a portion of the manifold pass through the interior of the inflatable curtain, and to provide holes in the manifold to bleed inflation gas into the inflatable curtain.
Still another object of the invention is to fill the inflatable tube structure from the forward end adjacent the front pillar of the vehicle.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a 180xc2x0 bend at the end of the manifold such that the inflation gas exits the manifold in a direction parallel to the inflatable tube structure in its stored state.
A final object of the invention is an inflatable tube structure that reduces in length when inflated and forms a rigid cushion to prevent an occupant from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of a rollover.
These and other objectives will become more apparent from a reading of the detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the figures.